Carriage-top



C. POCKLER. L Carriage-Tgp.

No. 227,151; i l Patented May 1s, 1z3so.

mmw 'A y' 'www' Il. PETERS. FHDTO-LWHOGRAFHFE WQSIUNGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES FOCKLER, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA.

CARRIAGE-TOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,751, dated May18,1880.`

' Application filed December 6,1879. I

To all whom #may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES FOCKLER, of Dubuque, in the county ofDubuque and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvemeut inAdjustable Vehicle-Tops; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to that class of contrivances for adjustingvehicle-tops wherein a rigid brace or rod is hinged to the shifting railon each side ofthe top and passes through a clamping device on one ofthe bows; and its object is to so construct the partsthat the back bowwill not carry the weight of the whole top when dropped down, and willbe thereby saved from breaking, and also so that the clamp will fit therod closely when loosened, preventing the top from rattling when down orbeing injured by the shaking of the vehicle.

My invention therein consists, iirst, in securing the clamp on each sideto the next to the last bow of the top and enlarging the rod or bracenear its lower end, or providing it with a stop, so that the rear bow,when the top is dropped down, will rest upon the prop-blocks, but theremainder of the top will be supported by the rigid rods or braces, andwill not rest upon such rear bow 5 and, second, in the peculiarconstruction of the clamps, so that they will act as swivels and can bemade to t the rods or braces snugly, so as not to have any playlthereon, and at the same time will not shake or rattle when the top isdown. In the drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of a four-bow tophaving my improvement attached; Fig. 2, a view of the same when droppeddown; Fig. 3, a separate view of one of the rods or braces, and Fig.4 asectional View of one of the clamps.

A B C D represent the four bows of the top, of ordinary construction.

The rst and third bows,'A C, are connected by a horizontal jointed rod,E, on each side, outside of the bows, while the third and fourth bows, CD, are connected by inside jointed rods or plates, F.

To the third bow, C, oneach side, near its top, is secured a plate, Gr,carrying the clamp, which plate may also carry the pivot-stud of thejointed rod E. This plate G extends to the rear of the bow, and is castwith a socket, I

a, provided with an internal screw-thread. Into the socket c is turnedthe screw-threaded inner end ofthe swivel or stud H. This stud Il has atransverse hole, b, in its end, through which the rod or brace passes 5and it also has a screw-threaded opening, c, extending from the hole bcentrally through the inner end of the stud.

The clamping thumb-screw I turns in the opening c from the inside of thecarriage, and sets against the rod or brace in the hole b. By thesemeans the hole b can be made to fit the rod or brace snugly, since thestud H turns as a swivel, and, being held by a screw-thread,

never works loose so as to allow the parts to rattle when the top isdown.

The rigid rod or brace K on each side of the top is pivoted on theprop-block of the shiftingrail. It extends up through the hole b in theswivel-stud H, and has a knob on its upper end, to prevent it from beingdrawn out of the stud and to limit the forward movement of the top.v

The lower portion of the brace is enlarged, forming a shoulder at L,which, when the top is thrown down, supports the three front bows abovethe rear bow, thus preventing the rear bow from being broken by theweight of the top.

` It is apparent that'a stop can be secured to the brace to answer thepurpose of the shoulder L, or a shoulder formed on the brace withoutenlarging such brace 5 but I prefer the form shown, for strength andstiffness.

I am aware that there is a device for adjusting carriage-tops consistingof a cylinder having a hole through its center with a bolt passingthrough the same, a section of one of its ends lling the hole in thecylinder and the smaller end having screw-threads to receive athumb-screw, which operates to secure in place a straight brace passingthrough a hole in outer end of cylinder and bolt, and I do not claim inmy invention anything therein shown.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. As a new article of manufacture, theclamping device described, wherein are com- IOO bined the plate G, castwith an internal screwa vehicle-top, the clamping 'device described 1othreaded socket, a, the swivel or stud H, hav and the rigid rod K,having the shoulder L, ing its inner end screw-threaded and fitting forthe purpose setforth. socket a, its outer end pierced by the trans- Thisspecification signed and witnessed this verse holeb and acentrally-longitudinal screw- 24th da;7 of September, 1879. threadedopening7 c, and the thumb-screw I, v CHARLES FOGKLER. all constructedand arranged substantially as Witnesses described. WILLIAM GRAHAM,

2. In combination with the third bow, (l, of MONROE M. GADY.

